Wrap Issuer Makes Case for Tighter Stable Value Investment Guidelines
By Randy Myers The push by wrap issuers for more conservative stable value investment guidelines may have heightened the tension between issuers and fund managers, but it doesn’t appear to be threatening their symbiotic relationship. In a panel discussion at the SVIA’s 2010 Spring Seminar, for example, one leading fund manager conceded that his company […]
New Players Join Stable Value Wrap Community
By Randy Myers Wrap capacity in the stable value industry finally appears to be expanding. Wrap contracts guarantee book value withdrawal rights for investors in stable value products. When the credit markets froze in 2008, the banks and insurers that issue wrap contracts began to reassess the risks embedded in that business. In many cases, […]
Stable Value: A Return to Roots?
By: Randy Myers In the wake of the financial crisis, some stable value products popular decades ago are coming back into vogue. Insurance company–issued guaranteed investment contracts, or GICs, as well as a variety of similar guaranteed products, were at the height of their popularity through the 1980s. The guaran- tees provided by GICs were […]
Stable Value Statistics
By: Gina Mitchell Plan sponsors and 401(k) investors want to know the “numbers” to determine how their stable value fund stands up to other stable value funds and other investments options. SVIA has just completed work on two major surveys, which are a benefit of Association membership, that provide pertinent stable value statistics. SVIA’s Stable […]
Incorporating Lifetime Income Options in 401(k) Plans
By: Randy Myers Retirement plan sponsors have been slow to embrace them, but financial services firms continue to roll out life- time income products for the 401(k) market. These new products are designed to help retirement plan participants generate a steady stream of income in retirement, much as they would if they con- verted their […]
Stable Value and the Dodd-Frank Act: An Update
By: Randy Myers Are stable value wrap contracts a swap? The stable value industry argues that answer to the first question is no, making the second question moot. Federal regulators are undecided. Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, a study group formed by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) […]
Economist Says Debt of “Bankrupt”United States Far Worse than Advertised
By: Randy Myers Officially the federal debt at just over $14 trillion. In fact, says Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff, the real number is far, far higher—about $202 trillion. “The United States is bankrupt,” Kotlikoff told participants at the 2011 SVIA Spring Seminiar. “The official debt doesn’t capture most of the action when it […]
Editor’s Corner – Stable Value: Keeping Its Promises
By: James King, Prudential Insurance Stable value continues to perform well in the post-crisis world. However, the cloud of economic and regulatory uncertainty looms over all of us. To meet new challenges, we will need to adapt and change to succeed in this ever-evolving environment. The 2011 SVIA Spring Seminar provided a good opportunity to […]
Proposed Fiduciary Regulations Could Prove Problematic for Broker-Dealers
By: Randy Myers You knew this was going to be tricky. In the aftermath of the most recent financial crisis, Congress called for stiff new regulation of the financial services industry. Now, some of the regulations proposed by various federal agencies appear to conflict with those suggested by others. Exhibit A is a proposal from […]